To Protect City and Family
by TerryJ
Summary: Some snippets from between scenes of TDK - POV of Jim Gordon- TDK Spoilers- Reviews are appreciated.
1. Chapter 1

It took Jim Gordon a moment to process what was going on

It took Jim Gordon a moment to process what was going on. He was lying on something hard and the world was blurry, but that could be because he no longer seemed to be wearing his glasses or because he couldn't seem to open his eyes more than a crack. His bullet proof vest seemed tight around his torso, making it difficult to breath and it felt like a fire was burning in his back.

Two large fingers roughly pushed themselves on to his neck and Jim could hear the familiar voice of Detective Stephens shouting.

It was then that the sounds of the rest of the world came in to focus; the screaming, the occasional popping gun shots, the desperate sounds of people trying to out race each other to safety, and Jim remembered what happened. He remembered the events of the past few days, the bank robberies and murders, arguing with Dent on the roof, the death threats successfully carried out. He remembered seeing that horribly scarred face, sans make-up for the first time, as he turned a firing squad rifle to the podium. The fact that the Joker had stolen a police uniform held a kind of symbolism for Jim Gordon as he lay, still unmoving, on the street stage.

The memories hit Jim like a freight truck and at the same time a sudden sense of panic and desperation fell upon him. No one could be trusted. Nothing he knew was safe anymore. His family wasn't safe. They weren't safe because of him. He just had to have jumped on the Batman and Harvey Dent idealism train. It was one thing not to join the criminal world of Gotham, but it was something else all together to antagonize them. But he did. First with the money tracking, then Lau, then helping Dent with those arrests. And now the whole world is upside down and he has risked his family's safety.

"Get out of the way people! Let the medics through!" Detective Stephens was still there kneeling next to Jim. "C'mon Gordon, you're okay, c'mon a sick sonofabitch can't take you down, c'mon!"

Something in the detective's desperation relit the little light of hope inside of Jim. Jim had worked with the detective for 20 years. He knew when he was a young cop he had some gambling issues and had some illicit connections but Jim knew that it was all in the past and Stephens was a good man trying to stay clean in a dirty city. Jim could trust him, at least he hoped.

"S..." Jim tried to speak but found his mouth was dry. He wanted to get Stephen's attention but if he wanted his plan to work he couldn't risk moving too much. He swallowed hard and tried again, "Stephens..." It wasn't much more than a throaty rasp but it worked. In a moment the detective's face swam into Jim's blurry vision.

"Jim?! Jim, c'mon you say something? Don't worry you're gunna be fine, I know it."

Jim swallowed harshly "Family. Not safe if I'm alive. I have to be dead until a plan...?" Jim trailed off breathing heavily.

At first Stephen didn't say anything at all and Jim wondered if had spoken loud enough or if he had made any sense. Then the detective's face was gone from view but not before he breathed out "Damn it Gordon." Jim felt Stephens pat him on the chest. He wanted to tell him that it hurt but he knew it was meant to be a comfort so he stayed still, besides, anyone who saw him had to think he was dead.

He let his eyes close completely and soon felt himself being gently prodded and moved onto a board. He heard Stephens saying in a hushed but very forceful voice, "This man is Jim Smith. I don't care what you find in his pockets or wallet, he is Jim Smith, do you understand me?" Knowing his family would be safe Jim let himself slip to oblivion.


	2. Chapter 2

It took Jim Gordon a moment to process what was going on

The next thing Jim knew he was in an uncomfortable hospital bed. The heavy vest he had been wearing had been removed and he was happy to breathe a little easier. He tried to shift but realized he was wearing a sling. He glanced around and after a little fumbling with his free hand he found his glasses on the bedside table. He still had some dulled pain in his back but at least he could see properly now. It was dark outside. The funeral was mid afternoon so he wondered how long he had been out.

He thought about Stephens and he wondered how he had continued his farce, if had let anyone in on the secret, if it would help his family at all. And then Gordon thought about Barbara and the kids. Would Stephens tell them the truth or would he make the solemn house call, offering a hug and the standard if-you-need-anything condolence? Jim hadn't considered his plan's potential ramifications on his family. For a split second he considered calling home but before he could a small young nurse walked into the room.

"Mr. Smith, you're awake!" Jim looked at her confused for a second but he recalled Stephen's instructions to ambulance medics.

"Um. Yes. What time is it?"

"Well Mr. Smith, it is pushing 5am, I suppose the normal wake up time for a busy officer such as yourself."

Gordon kept silent so the nurse continued to talk as she went about her work of checking his pulse, heart and IV.

"You had us concerned, your injuries were relatively minor so we expected you to wake up soon but you just kept lying there, dead to the world." Gordon let out a little snort at the comment. The young woman seemed not to notice and kept right about her work, "Orders were to try to force you awake if you were still out by day break. Luckily it looks like we don't have to do that now. Still, it's a bit cause for concern especially because of that bump on your head. Do you remember what happened?"

Gordon remembered most of it vividly but decided to keep his answers short. "Vaguely."

She smiled at him as if she were smiling at a young child, "Well you did a very brave thing, you saved the mayor from getting shot you know. The bullet hit you in the back. Luckily you were wearing a vest so it slowed the bullet enough that it stopped right in the muscle tissue and didn't go any deeper. You didn't even need surgery. We were able to remove it with tweezers. If you hadn't been wearing a vest it surely would have punctured a lung or your heart and we wouldn't be having this conversation now."

Jim smirked, thinking he wasn't much participating in the conversation anyway.

"But that's why we've given you the sling. The less you move your arm, the less you'll irritate the injury and the less it will hurt and the faster it will heal. So try to keep your arm still as much as possible." Again Jim smirked, knowing that the sling wouldn't last long.

"Anyway when you fell you hit your head pretty hard. We think you just have a minor concussion but you were out for so long we may need to do additional tests."

Jim grimaced. "I don't think that will be necessary."

The nurse tilted her head slightly, "Why?"

He thought back to the past few days, he counted about 8 hours of fitful sleep over the course of the past week. Its not like it was anything particularly new. Ever since he became a cop and especially since he became a detective there were nights that found him catching the only sleep he could at his desk. Recently he hadn't even managed that. He knew it was affecting him, he sometimes found it difficult to focus and was more prone to showing his frustration be it kicking a bundle of bills across an empty safe or arguing with Harvey Dent. He was headed for a crash anyway, even his triple strength coffee had lost its punch by the morning of the commissioner's funeral. But again he decided to keep his answer to the nurse short.

"I needed some sleep."

She accepted his simple answer with a shake of the head. "Well Mr. Smith, you'll have plenty of time to sleep now that you're here with us." With a smile she left the room urging him to call her if he needed anything. Jim knew he wouldn't.

He spent the next few hours restlessly drifting between short naps and wondering about how his family was doing but more so he wondered what was going on with his city and with his cops. He held faith that he wouldn't have to play this game for long but he couldn't have imagined how short he'd have to wait.

At 9 that morning he turned on the television that was in the room. Harvey Dent was giving a press conference. Jim sat straight up in bed when Dent declared himself to be Batman. Jim knew it wasn't true. He'd seen Dent and Batman standing side by side, they couldn't be the same person, yet there was Dent being led away in handcuffs.

This time Jim didn't pause before reaching for the phone.

"Stephens, it's me. I'm fine, thank you. When are you moving Dent? I want in."


	3. Chapter

It took Jim Gordon a moment to process what was going on

Jim paused and rolled his shoulders a few times before opening the door to the roof. His back was flaring up again, he had a droning headache and the last time he slept was two days ago when he was "dead". That seemed forever ago. At that time he had thought things were bad but now they were a mess. The PD and Batman were no longer a step ahead or even with the Joker. The maniac had left them all in the dust and in his first days as commissioner they had resorted to clumsily reacting to each bit of chaos that came their way. Jim felt like he was floundering and failing in his duty to lead the GPD and the city back to safety. He really felt like he lost any sense of control when the incident with Dent and Dawes happened. He shuddered to think of it, but he convinced himself if he could save Dent from the raving lunatic that perhaps the young lawyer could pull himself back up and even though he would never be photogenic as he once was (far from it) perhaps he could reassume his role as the city's white night. Thus Jim convinced himself that his duty was saving Dent because that meant saving the city. Popping a couple of Ibuprofen and giving his shoulders a final role he stepped out on to the roof to greet the SWAT team with out any indication of the pain, exhaustion or dismay he felt.

He knew he probably gave himself away to the veteran and more observant officers moments later when he drew his gun and shouted when the Batman demanded to do things his way. Jim didn't care, he just wanted this whole thing to be over. He was truly beginning to believe that everything had hit the bottom. Things couldn't be any worse and he couldn't be in any less control.

And then his phone rang.

"We're in trouble. He has the kids." Kept ringing through his ears. He had watched the SWAT team kick off before he broke out of his haze and ran to his car with all the adrenaline his body could produce.

During the drive over he remembered arriving home the other night.

He had knocked. He didn't know why, but he felt like he should. Barbara had answered the door, eyes red and glossy, but suddenly shocked and focused as she realized who was standing there.

Her slap had hurt, but he was expecting it, what he wasn't expecting was the force with which she pulled him to her. They had always had a deep love for each other but his work schedule recently had stressed their relationship, he was torn between his duty to the city and his duty to his family. But at that moment nothing else mattered. They stood in the doorway and embraced for what seemed eternity. Barbara had cried and to Jim's surprise, so had he. He was relieved to have caught the s.o.b., happy for the promotion and so sorry for the pain he caused his wife. He kissed her forcefully and apologized again and again.

She pushed him away and told him to go see his children and then come to bed, she missed him. He had stared at her longingly but turned to his daughter's room.

She was sleeping and didn't even move when he brushed a kiss on her cheek. He adjusted a few things on her night stand just to occupy himself before moving to Jimmy's room.

Jimmy did not sleep as soundly as his sister. Jim knew his son was pretending to be asleep so he knelt quietly by the bed, waiting. He loved it when his son looked up to him and his heart brimmed at the boy's look of admiration when he relayed how it was he, mere mortal Dad, who saved Batman and not the other way around. But then the phone rang and the moment of bliss in chaos was lost.

Damn the phone. Always making things worse. He remembered Barbara's look of fear and concern when he told her he had to go back to the station. He had kissed her and told not to worry. Apparently he was wrong.

When he arrived at the flamed out building it looked dead and deserted. For a moment he wondered if he was correct in coming here. The radio cackled. "Gordon. Station to Gordon." He picked up the receiver, dropping proper protocol he spoke into it quickly, "Gordon's on, I'm solo at situation at the Dawes crime scene."

That should be enough to have back up near by if he needs it. He shut off the radio on his belt and proceeded through the building. He began slowly but threw caution to the wind and ran when he spotted his family huddled against a beam.

He shouldn't have. He should have known better. Perhaps if he had had that extra cup of coffee he would have foreseen what was coming. Instead he saw stars and felt a shot of pain radiate everywhere as the butt of Harvey Dent's gun made contact with Jim's head and Harvey's shoe forcefully found the already irritated gunshot wound in Jim's back.

Jim tried to get up but he couldn't get further than propping himself up on one arm.

When he finally felt he could steady himself he stayed still for fear of setting off Harvey and the revolver that glinted dangerously close to Jim's family.

Jim's heart had skipped a beat when Batman showed up, but his hopes of everything being okay were dashed when the gunshot rang out and Batman collapsed.

Jim tried to do what ever he could, practically begged Harvey to shoot him instead of his son but in his heart he had given up. He was too tired to try and reason with lunatics any more and he knew that he wouldn't be able to move fast enough to wrestle the gun away. Not only was he a failure as a police commissioner but now he was a failure as a father and husband. He was supposed to be a protector, but he simply could not. He wept openly as he gave in to the monster that was once Harvey Dent and told his son that it would be okay.

Suddenly there was a flash of black and Harvey was dead, his family was safe and Jim Gordon, well known friend of the caped crusader, was about to make Batman public enemy number one.

The four members of the Gordon family sat in the backseat of a cruiser together as they were driven home.

Jim had insisted that he alone would provide a statement the next morning and his family was going home together, immediately. The officers finally relented when Jim nearly collapsed right there on the street.

He would go home and get some rest before preparing two statements, one to the police declaring The Batman a villain and one to the public declaring Harvey "Two-Face" Dent a hero.

Then Police Commissioner Gordon would go back to his job shouldering his own burdens as another of Gotham's unglorified protectors.


End file.
